Leeds United defender Gabriel Gudmundsson provides World Cup injury update after international call-up
The Leeds United defender is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Injured Leeds United defender Gabriel Gudmundsson insists he’ll be ‘fully ready’ to join his Sweden teammates later this month ahead of their World Cup trip.
Gudmundsson was named in head coach Graham Potter’s 26-man squad on Tuesday evening but is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury. The left-back has missed Leeds’ last two games against Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur, with doubt cast over his availability for the final two games of the season.
Speaking after the squad announcement, Potter spoke in detail about other players carrying fitness issues including Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski - who hasn’t made the squad - and Liverpool striker Alexander Isak. He didn’t mention Gudmundsson but Swedish Hallandsporten (via Sport Witness) have spoken with the Leeds man.
“It’s nothing that I can comment on,” he said when asked about the injury. “I went a little behind. But I have had a good dialogue with the national team management and will be fully ready when the World Cup squad gathers on May 27.”
Speaking last week, Leeds assistant coach Edmund Riemer said Gudmundsson will undergo daily assessment to see if he can make it for Brighton or West Ham. With Leeds’ Premier League safety secured, they are unlikely to rush anyone back from injury even during a mini-crisis in defence.
Daniel Farke was without first-choice wing-backs Gudmundsson and Jayden Bogle at Tottenham, as well as in-form winger Noah Okafor and Ilia Gruev. He also lost Pascal Struijk to a hip issue midway through the second-half as the demands of a season fighting Premier League relegation start to show.
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“It will be tough to go straight from a season in the Premier League to playing in the World Cup,” Gudmundsson added. “But at the same time it is a big dream for me. I had a great season in Leeds where we got the contract and then getting to hang out with the national team in Mexico and the USA will be crazy fun.”
Gudmundsson could come up against an Elland Road teammate at the World Cup, with Sweden due to face Japan in their final Group F fixture. Ao Tanaka hasn’t yet been called up but is expected to travel to the USA, Canada and Mexico. Sweden also face Tunisia and the Netherlands.
Alongside Gudmundsson and likely Tanaka, a host of Leeds players are still fighting for a ticket across the Atlantic Ocean. Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Anton Stach earned March call-ups for England and Germany respectively, while Okafor made his long-awaited return to the Switzerland squad but didn’t feature.
Brenden Aaronson is widely expected to be part of co-host nation the USA for a home World Cup. All will first be focused on ending the season strongly with Leeds, starting at home to Brighton on Sunday.